Cable-carrier apparatus.



M. B. LAWRENCE.

CABLE CARRIER APPARATUS- APPLICATION FILED DEC. 18, 1914.

Patented Aug. 17, 1915.

5y zmgww ,m 4;) Harvey COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO" WASHINGTON, D. C.

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MILLABDB. LAWRENCE, 0FPHILADELPHIA:IfEliTN$YLVANIA, nssreivon' To THE LAMSON COMPANY, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, e. GORPORATIONOF NEW JERSEY.

To all whom it may concern: 0

Be it known that I, MILLARD B. LAW- RENCE, a citizen of the United States, re-

larly well adapted to vertical lines,but also of course capable of use in connection with horizontal transmission lines; and which station shall be free from all possibility of the collision of carriers being despatched, or about to be despatched, with through carrier's en route past the station. .This andother objects of my invention will be hereinafter referred to and the novel combinations of elements whereby, said objects may be attained will be pointed out with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in'which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, I have exemplified preferred forms of my device; but as I am aware of various changes and modifications which may be made herein, I desire to be limited only by the scope of the said claims.

Referringto the drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a stationembodying a preferred form of my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a section taken on line IIIIII of Fig. 1. Fig. 4L is a detail rear View of the switch shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail section taken on line VV of Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is a section taken on line VI'VI of Fig. 2.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, herein the track the rails of which have been desig nated 1, may be considered as the main forwarding track from the station shown and from others which may be in alinement therewith, while the rails designated 2 are those of the return track to said stations. The selective switch mechanisms for distributing carriers traversing this return track toward the station shown, or like sta- CABLE-CARRIER, APPARATUS.

tions inalinernent therewith, form. no part of the present invention and since such mechanisms are moreover'in common use, the parts thereof have not been shown.

The present invention is particularly well adapted to vertical lines of track, or in other words to those-passing upwardly from one floor'of a building to another,.whereby to obviate the possibility of collision between a carrier being despatched from a station alongfsuch a line and a carrier ascending toward and past such a station. The drawings exemplify such a verticaljline and the flooring immediately below, the station has been designated 8. i This fiooring'of course has a suitableaperture 4 through which the rails 1 and 2'extend and the usual cable 5 also passes through this aperture, the direction of travel of the respective limbs of the cable being indicated by'arrows adjacent thereto.

The carrier is preferably of the same type as that shown in the patent to George A.

Amsden, Number 960,617, dated June 7 1910, and as this carrier has had the details thereof repeatedly shown in patent applications and patents, and as it is in very'oommon use, it will not herein be further described except to mention that it comprises the usual base plate 7 with its guide lugs 8 and 8, preferably of diflerent lengths, to prevent the despatch of the carrier wrong end to in the manner hereinafter described. The carrier also has the usual relatively fixed cable engaging jaw or grip element 9 and pivoted jaw 10 which rides in the slot 11 in the plate 7. I

Through carriers, which are in engagement with the ascending limb of the cable, shown inFig. 1, traverse the curved ofi-set 12 in track 1 and thereby swing the cable toward the left as viewed in Fig. 1 out. of alinement with the continuations 13 of rails 1, which are in alinement with said rails but over which the through carriers do not pass. A carrier being despatched from the station, however, after having had its lugs Sand 8 inserted between the oif-set portions 14: and Li of the extensions 13, may be caused to traverse said extensions after its grip has been properly engaged with the cable.

In o'rder to preventthe despatchofthe carrier wrong end to the usual impeding lug Specification of Letters Patent. Patented/Aug. 17, 1915. i Application filed December 18, 1914. -Seria11\T0. 877,886. L

15 may be provided adjacent the off-set 14; this lug being so .disposed as to permit the short guide 8 of the carrier to pass thereby, but preventing the emplacement of the carrier uponthe track sections 13 when the carrier has been turned wrong end foremost so that its guide 8 may engage the lug 15'.

Assuming that the carrier has been properly emplaced upon the rail extensions 13, from the opposite side of the rails 13 shown in Fig. 1, and that said carrier has been raised by hand until its m'ovablegrip element 10 has been swung to its closed position by the locking cam 16, in a well known manner, if the ascending limb of the cable 5 has not been drawn aside as indicated in Fig. 1, said cable will be operatively engaged with the cable grip to draw the carrier upwardly against the switch 17 which normally occupies its dotted line position in said figure. This rotates the switch counterclockwise and permits of the emplacement of the carrier being despatched upon rails 1, after which it continues on toward its destination inthe usual manner. A carrier ascending through the aperture 4 below the given station cannot possibly collide with the carrier being despatched or with the fingers of the operator which may be in en gagement with this carrier, since this through carrier traverses a circuitous course over the rail sections 12 around the despatching point. i

The switch 17 has some tendency to fall naturally toward its dotted line position 17 but if by any chance it should have remained in theposition in which it is shown in full lines in Fig.1 after the despatch of a carrier from the station, the passing through carrier will of course rotate the switch clockwise into its dotted line position to permit of the passage of the through carrier therepast. This switch may be of any suitable description but is preferably constructed as shown in Figs. 1, 1 and 5 in which a rod of substantially the same size as those from which the tracks are constructed, is bent around into somewhat pear-shaped form and has its ends welded or forged together, as indicated, to form the free end of the switch. A sheet metal plate 18 is then sweated fast to the body of the switch to provide a pivotal connection therefor and it is preferable to extend from this metal plate a tongue 19 which may engage a somewhat similar metal plate 20 connected between the adjacent rails 12 and 13, in order to steady the switch against lateral movement at right angles to the plane in which it should normally rotate. To this same end a sheet metal clip 21 may be riveted to the plate 20, as indicated in Fig. 4, the tongue 19 thereby being caused. to ride in a slot provided between said plate 20 and its clip 21. Plate 20 eX- tends up slightly beyond the ends of the especially from the grip of any carrier which may happen to be passing at the instant that the operators hand is occupied in despatching a carrier from the station.

This shield is preferably attached at one edge thereof to the plate'20 whileits opposite edge may be conveniently fastened to a bracket 25 carried upon'one of the rails 2.

In so faras has thus far been described it is at once apparent that no collision be tween the carrier being despatched and the through carriercan occur; while of course the hand of the operator cannot be struck by the ascending through carrier, as some times occurs in existing apparatus when the person despatching the carrier carelessly grasps the same with the finger or thumb in contact with the lower edge of the carrier base plate 7 or of some adjacent and correspondingly exposed part of the carrier. Certain objects of the invention have hence already been accomplished by the provision of the above described combination of elements. It will be noted, however, that when a carrier is inserted for despatch from the station, if the cable has thus been shifted to one side, said cable, upon its return toward its normal position, will frequently not be properly disposed with respect to the carrier grip to enable the jaws of the latter to be closed upon it; since the cable will have moved back into engagement with the left hand side of the grip jaw 9, as viewed in Fig. 1, and it will continue to wipe against this jaw and thereby be held slightly out of its normal path of travel; unless the jaw be rounded considerably as at 9 (Fig. 3), or be otherwise suitably modified. It would then be necessary for a person despatching the carrier to withdraw it from its engagement with the track, whereby to permit the cable to move fully back. Again, even if the jaw 9 be shaped to cause the running cable to ride or jump over the same, still there is the likelihood of the carrier grip being closed by the cam 16, while the cable is held to one side as in Fig. 1; and this would necessitate not only the withdrawal of the carrier from between the track off-sets l t-14C, but further its grip would then have to be opened by hand before replacing the carrier upon the track. In the form of my device shown in Fig. 1, such possibilities are obviated by the pro- 27 which is connected to az-lever 28 pivoted at 29 to one of the track brackets 30. The point of attachment of the rod or link 27 to the slide 26 has for convenience been des ignated 31, while its point of attachment to a lug upon the lever '28 has been correspondingly designated 32 (and 32 in its dotted line position)! Fixedly mounted upon the lower end of the rail section 13 is a small bracket 33 to which is connected a spring 341 which extends up toward andis connected to an arm 35 of the slide 26. This spring normally tends to hold slide 26 in its lowermost position and to thereby. emplace the lever 28in theposition in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and a Each through carrier immediately after. it has passed through the hole 4: in the flooring impinges against the lever 28 and lifts the same to its dotted line positiom'which through the instrumentali'ty of the rod 27, lifts the slide 26 to itsdotted line position whereby to prevent the insertion of a carrier at 14l4:. Immediatelyafter this the through carrier clears the lever 28, where upon spring 34: tends to return the latter together with slide 26 to their full line positions. This action is prevented however by the disposition of the centers 29, 32 and 31 with respect to each other, at such time; the center 32 having been swung out slightlybeyond a line joining the points 29 and 31.

The outward movement of the lever 28 may be conveniently limited by providing .a stop lug 28 thereupomwhich may strike against the rod 27 as indicatedin dotted lines in Fig. 2, and when lug 28 thus bears against rod 27 the slide 26 is locked against downward movement.

I- may here state that I am aware that the provision of means such as the slide 26 with its operating connections, whereby to prevent the insertion of .a carrier through the despatching apertures in the rails, is adapted for use in connection with stations of types quite different from that herein shown; so that I do not desire to be limited to the particular disposition of parts exem plitied by way of illustrating the invention; and hence in certain of, the claims I have quite broadly covered the combination of such a device as the said slide 26 with its operating parts.

Referring now to the upper portion of Figs. 1 and 2, a lever 36 is therein shown as the said ascending carrier.

pivoted at 37 to'one of the track brackets 38. Connected to said lever asat 39 is a rod &0

which extends down and is connected to a 2 short depending arm 41 ofthe lever 28. The disposition of the point of jconnection between the rod: or link 40 and said arm 41 is such that whenthe connecting points 29, 32 and 31 are'substantially inalinement as above described, the extension 41 will still aiford an effective lever" arm.-by meansof which the lever 36 actingthrough link 40 mayrotate the lever 28 back to its normal or full line position.

The freeend of thelever 36 normally lies just out of the path of carriers being despatched along the rails 13; but whenever lever 28 is lifted'into its-dotted 'lineposition by a carrier ascending through the aperture 4:, the said free end of thelever 36 is rotated clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 2, into its dotted line position, in which it is in the path of When, therefore, the latter passes on from the curved rails 12 on to the rails l thereabove,it r0- tates lever 36 counter-clockwise and thereby returns lever 28 to its normal position; the clockwise movement of lever 28' pulling down the slide 26 by means of the rod 27; and the spring34: aiding this movement after the connectionpoint'32 has moved past its dead center. A carrier may now of course be despatched from the station and the parts'28, 26 and 36 will remain in the positions in whichthey are shown in full lines in the drawingsuntil-the neXt through carrier has ascended through the aperture 4, when the above described operation of the mechanism will be repeated. 7

Having thus described my invention what I claim is p 7 1. In cable carrier apparatus, the combinationof a'track' havinga station therealong and an off-set therein for directing through carriers around said station, and means at said-station for despatching a carrier therefrom and emplacing it upon said track. p 2. In cable carrier apparatus, the combination of a main track having a station through carriers, an auxiliary track along which carriers despatchedvfrom said station may pass to said main track, a cable normally traveling in a path adjacent said auxiliary track, to facilitate the engagement of carriers being despatched from said station with said cable, and means for engaging said carriers with said cable, carriers traversing said off-set portion of said mainitraclr being adapted to draw said cable out of itssaid normal path of travel to prevent the dspatch of a carrier from' said station which latter. o

might collide with said switch while said through carrier is in engagement with the I 3. In cable carrier nation of a main track having a station therealong and an ofli-set portion therein for directing through carriers around and past said station, a cable with which said through carriers are normally in engagement while traversing said oil-set portion, and means at said station for engaging a carrier to be despatched therefrom, with said cable, when the latter is free from engagement'with a through carrier en route along said off-set portion of said main track. 7

4. In cable carrier apparatus, a main track having therealong a station and ofi:'-' set, carrier guiding means for directing through carriers around said station, a cable for propelling carriers along said means, auxiliary guiding means for directing onto said track carriers despatchedfrom said station, and means for preventing the emplacement of a carrier operatively upon said auxiliary means, so long as a through carrier is en route along said ofi-set guiding means.

5. In cable carrier apparatus, the combination of a track section having a despatching opening whereby carriers may be emplaced upon said section, a second track sectlon extendinglnto the first, a switch at the ]11I1C- tion of said sections, and means for blocking the despatching opening in said first mentloned track section when a carrier 1s en route along said second section toward said switch. 1

6. In cable carrier apparatus, the combination of a track section having a despatching opening whereby carriers may be emplaced upon said section, a second tracksec- 1 tion extending intothe first, a switch at the junction of said sections,means for blocking for blocking the opening in said first section to prevent the despatch of a carrier there-- through, means controlled by the passage of a through carrier past a determined point in said second track section, for operatively disposing said blocking means, and means controlled by the passage of said carrier. past a second point in its path of travel, for returning said blocking means to its inoperative position.

8. In cable carrier apparatus, the com- I bination of a track section having a despatching opening whereby carriers may be apparatus, the combi 7 emplaced upon'said section, a second track section extending into the first, a switch element at thejunction of said sections, means for blocking the opening in said first section to prevent the despatch of a carrier therethrough, means controlled by the passage of a through carrier past a determined point in said second track section, for operatively disposing said blocking means, and means, including a spring, for returning said blocking means to its inoperative position.

9. In cable carrier apparatus, the combination of two tracks extending in substantial parallelism, a cable for propelling car-- riers along said tracks, one limb of said cable running in adjacency to one of said tracks and the other limb of said cable running in an opposite direction and extending in adj acency to the other of said tracks, one of said tracks having a despatching opening therein through which the guides of carriers to be despatched may be inserted, to permit of the emplacement of said carriers upon said last mentioned track, said carriers being emplaced upon said last mentioned track from between said parallel tracks, and means to guard the hand ofthe operator from car riers traversing the other of said tracks.

10. Cable carrier apparatus comprising a main track, a cable for propelling carriers along said track, a station having means for engaging carriers to be despatched therefrom with said cable, an'drcollision preventing provisions forcausing a displacementof said cable laterally with respect to said engaging means when a through carrier, en route along said main track, is passing said station. v

11. In cable carrier apparatus, guiding means to provide a path along which carriersfmay travel, guiding means to'provide a second path for carriers, leading into said first'path, carrier blocking means to hold a carrier against movement along one of said paths, mechanism controlled by a carrier traversing the other of said paths, for opera tively disposing said blocking means, said blocking means remaining in its operative position after said last mentioned carrier has passed out of engagement with said mechanism, and means controlled by said carrierfor causing the return of said block-.

ing meansto its inoperative position thereafter.

12. In cable carrier apparatus, guiding ineansto provide'a path along which carriers maytravel, guiding means to provide a second path for carriers, leading into said first path, carrier blocking means to hold a carrieragainst movement along one of said paths, mechanism controlled by a carrier traversing the other of said paths, for operatively disposing said blocking means, said blocking means remaining in its operative position after said last mentioned carrier has passed out of engagement with said mechanism, and means for causing the return of said blocking means to its inoperative position thereafter.

13. In. cable carrier apparatus, the combination of a main track having a station therealong and an off-set portion therein for directing through carriers around and past said station, an auxiliary track along which carriers despatched from said station may pass to said main track, a cable normally traveling in a path adjacent said auxiliary track, and means for engaging a carrier be ing despatched from said station, with said cable, carriers traversing said'ofiset portion of said main track co-acting with said portion to draw said cable out of its normal path of travel and away from said engaging means. 7

14. In cable carrier apparatus, the comemplaced upon said section, a second track section extending into the first, a switch at the junction of said section, means for blocking the opening in said first section, and means for actuating said blocking means.

15. In cable carrier apparatus, the combination of a track section having a despatching opening whereby carriers may be emplaced upon said section, a second track section extending into the first, means for blocking the opening in said first section to prevent the insertion of a carrier thereinto, means controlled by the passage of a through carrier past a determined point in said second track section for operatively disposing saidblocking means, and means controlled by the passage of said through carrier past a second point in its path of travel, for returning said blockingmeans to its inoperative position.

In testimony, whereof I have affixed my signature, in the presencefof two witnesses,

MILLARD B. LAWRENCE. Witnesses:

HO ARD E. ToMLINsoN, THOS. P. BROWN.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner, of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

